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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Vatican City, 27 March 2014 (VIS) –
On Tuesday, 1 April, in Vatican Radio's Sala Marconi, there will be a
presentation of “The Voice of the Popes”, Vatican Radio's digital
archive which brings together the voices of the popes who have
succeeded to the see of St. Peter since 1931, the year in which the
pontifical broadcasting entity was founded, from Pius XI to Francis.
The institutional tasks of Vatican Radio are to consult, preserve and
manage the papal audio archive ensuring that, in the case of use by
third parties, the pastoral character of the material is conserved
and intellectual property rights are protected.

The digitisation of the archive, which
will take place in conjunction with the canonisation of Popes John
XXIII and John Paul II on 27 April, will guarantee the conservation
of the audio material, whose integrity may be endangered by wear and
tear of archive supports, and will allow the archiving of audio
material and text (metadata) in a far more efficient and rational
way. The new digital support will also ensure easier use of content
by information workers and scholars.

“The Vatican Radio technical
directorate has completed the digitisation of the pontifical audio
archive, reproducing the content of the 8000 tapes and original
supports documenting the activities of popes, from Pius XI up to
Francis, including Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, who will soon
be canonised”.

Speakers at the press conference for
the presentation of “The Voices of the Popes”, moderated by Fr.
Federico Lombardi S.J., director general of Vatican Radio, were:
Cardinal Giovan Battista Re, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for
Bishops and president emeritus of the Pontifical Commission for Latin
America, Vatican specialist Gian Franco Svidercoschi, and Guido
Gusso, Pope John XXIII's valet and Dean of the Hall of the Papal
Antechamber under Pope John Paul II. The digitisation of the archive
was undertaken with the contribution of the Banca Intesa Russia and
with the support of Confartigianato Persone.